With Albert Pujols making his triumphant return to the St. Louis Cardinals, things just seem right again.
It felt so weird to watch him wear another uniform, but now he’s back and ready to finish off an illustrious career alongside his two longtime Cardinal teammates Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright.
Many Cardinals fans were pushing for Pujols to return this season, and they have gotten their wish.
According to Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, however, it wasn’t just the fans who wanted “The Machine” back in Cardinal red.
Molina and new manager Oliver Marmol were also lobbying for the future Hall-of-Famer to return to St. Louis.
Conversations this morning in #STLCards camp made it clear both Yadier Molina and Oli Marmol were pushing for the Albert Pujols reunion. Yadi and Pujols are tight as everyone knows. But Pujols and Marmol are too.
— Ben Frederickson (@Ben_Fred) March 28, 2022
Cards, Fans Get Their Wish
It’s nice to see that it wasn’t just the fanbase that wanted to see Pujols return.
People within the organization clearly wanted it too, and it’s good that Marmol and Molina were pushing for a Pujols reunion.
Whether or not the move was for sentimental reasons doesn’t matter at this point.
Pujols is not only back, but also figures to form a strong platoon at the DH position with Corey Dickerson, whom the Cards signed to a one-year, $5 million deal soon after the lockout was lifted.
Dickerson, a lefty bat, figures to get the bulk of the at-bats against right-handed pitching, while Pujols gets the bulk of the at-bats against left-handed pitching.
And Pujols had a .953 OPS against lefties in 2021, so he’s still a viable option for St. Louis, and it’s clear that many around the organization felt the same way outside of the fact that they just wanted to see the Cardinal legend don the Birds on the Bat one more time.
Pujols will do just that, and you can bet his ovation will be the loudest at Busch Stadium on Opening Day.
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